In the coming year we will continue to purify and characterized the protein adding diaminopimelic acid to the cell wall with the intention of pursuing subsequent experiments to see if this protein is important in some way to the determination of cell shape, since it is a candidate for crosslinking the peptidoglycan into a rigid wall. We also propose to study the details of the interaction between the cell membrane and the membrane associated wall synthetic enzyme which we have recently purified. In particular we propose to make antibodies against the protein and to label it with radioiodine in order to trace its association with the membrane. As an example, we plan to determine if the protein is associated with the interior or exterior of the membrane. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Taku, A., and D.P. Fan (1976). Purification and properties of a protein factor stimulating peptidoglycan synthesis in toluene- and LiCl-treated Bacillus megaterium cells. J. Biol. Chem. 25l:1889-1895. Fan, D.P., and B.E. Beckman, and H.L. Gardner-Eckstrom (1975). Mode of cell wall synthesis in gram-positive bacilli. J. Bacteriol. 123:1157-1162.